Sacked bridesmaid begs airline for a refund

A bride's email to her former bridesmaid has gone viral, for all the wrong reasons.

When Dartmouth College student Courtney Duffy booked flights to attend her friend Alexandra's wedding, she didn't get the response she'd expected from the bride-to-be.

Instead of receiving an excited thank you message for booking cross country flights across the United States, and taking time out of her studies to come to the wedding, she shared a passive aggressive email reply asking her to "relinquish" her bridesmaid duties and even post the outfit back for someone else to wear.

The correspondence began innocently enough, with a cheery "I'm so glad to hear you booked flights!" before taking a bizarre turn.

"I have a massive favour to ask you, though – and this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to ask anyone – but I need to ask you to relinquish your duties as a bridesmaid," wrote the friend.

"When I asked you, I was really hoping that you could be a part of this whole thing – the bachelorette trip, at least the weekend, prep and the full night of the event," the email continued.

"The whirlwind nature of what your travel has become just won't work with the duties as a party member. I am so, so sorry!!"

A mixture of shocked, appalled, and amused, Duffy tweeted at the airline JetBlue asking for a refund on her recently-purchased flights.

"I am laughing & crying & must avoid this wedding at all costs," she wrote.

She was also asked to return the bridesmaid outfit — a jumpsuit — "so another girl could fill in and wear it", she said in her tweet to the airline.

To her surprise, JetBlue granted her wish, and then offered to provide a "girls weekend" so the pair could work out their differences.

"Hey Courtney, we've been thinking. The jumpsuit may have been borrowed, but we'll bring the (Jet)Blue. When you're ready to patch things up, we'd like to help make your old friendship feel like new. A future girls' weekend is on us!" they tweeted.

Surprised by all the attention the email had received, the former bridesmaid later tweeted a thank you message to the airline, along with a message for future wedding parties.

"Weddings have gotten totally out of control – this is about more than just an email. I'm hoping this thread reminds future lovebirds and bridal parties to keep their feet on the ground," she wrote.

While it's unknown if the bride has responded to the Twitter circus caused by her email, the viral thread has inspired other jilted wedding guests to share their stories instead: